The New Jersey State Industrial Union Council:

We’ve Got that Fighting Spirit!

There is no question about it: for working people in the United States and especially in the state of New Jersey, these are the most difficult times that active workers have ever witnessed in their lifetimes. In fact, these are the most difficult times that most retired workers have ever witnessed in their lifetimes. Only twelve out of every one hundred workers has union protection. Official statistics tell us that nearly one in ten of us has no job and is actively looking for one. Official statistics do not tell us how many of us have jobs which do not pay sufficiently to meet family expenses, especially for housing, transportation, and health care. The wealthiest one percent of the U.S. population now owns and controls over forty percent of the financial assets in the United States, according to Andrew Fieldhouse and Isaac Shapiro, writing in the Century Foundation’s Issue Brief of August 5, 2011. The average corporate chief executive officer receives about $380 for every $1 earned by the average working person in the United States. However, that same chief executive officer may very well pay taxes at a lower rate than the person who cleans his or her office. Eight million Americans are facing home foreclosure and possible homelessness—the result of predatory lending by big banks who were “bailed out” by our tax dollars. Seniors who have worked hard and played by the rules for decades are now faced with choosing between food and medication and are unable to get the preventive medical care that could lead to early detection of serious illnesses. Indeed, fifty million Americans have no health insurance coverage at all.

The New Jersey State Industrial Union Council is dedicated to the proposition that this state of affairs is unworthy of the United States of America. We are committed to bringing together union members, workers who do not yet have union protection, the unemployed, seniors, young people, and indeed all New Jerseyans, in a united effort for simple fairness to those who work, to those who want to work, and to those who, through no fault of their own, are not able to work. These are our values. This is our commitment. We hope that you will visit the other pages here to see in more detail how we are translating our values into action, and we especially hope that you will use our interactive contact form so that we can keep in touch with you and involve you in whatever action you can take together with us.

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